A method and electronic device for receiving input and outputting characters based on sound stroke patterns are described. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method for receiving input on an electronic device, comprising: detecting sounds generated by characters written on a writing surface; identifying strokes defining the characters from the detected sounds in accordance with a number of predefined sound signatures, wherein each character written on the writing surface is defined by a stroke sequence comprising at least one stroke; determining at least one character which matches the at least one stroke in each stroke sequence; and outputting a string comprising the at least one character which matches the at least one stroke in each stroke sequence.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for receiving input on an electronic device, comprising: detecting audible sound generated by strokes of an at least one character written on a writing surface; identifying from the detected sound a stroke sequence comprising at least one stroke and a predefined sound signature defining either a straight stroke or a curved stroke or both; determining the at least one character written on the writing surface using a predetermined character mapping that associates a particular character of the at least one character written on the writing surface with a particular stroke sequence, wherein the predetermined character mapping identifies the particular character by determining whether the particular stroke sequence includes either the straight stroke or the curved stroke or both, and by counting the number of straight strokes and curved strokes in the particular stroke sequence; distinguishing characters having the same stroke sequence resulting from the character mapping by recognizing a direction of each stroke relative to one another using a pad having a textured surface having at least two textured patterns oriented in different directions; and outputting a string comprising the at least one character determined by the predetermined character mapping.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: detecting an ambiguous input when a number of characters match a particular stroke sequence; generating an output set comprising a number of strings corresponding with the ambiguous input, each string in the output set including a particular character of the number of matching characters for the particular stroke sequence, the number of strings defining each permutation of the number of characters matching the particular stroke sequence for each ambiguous input; and outputting an output including at least a portion of the number of strings of the output set.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein each string in the output set further includes all characters which uniquely match the particular stroke sequence.
4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: detecting delimiter input separating input sequences, wherein the output set corresponding with the ambiguous input is newly generated for input sequence.
5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: determining a frequency object associated with each string in the output set, the frequency object having a frequency value defining a frequency of use of the respective string; wherein the at least a portion of the number of strings of the output set which is output is a particular string having a highest frequency value.
6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: determining a frequency object associated with each string in the output set, the frequency object having a frequency value defining a frequency of use of the respective string; wherein the at least a portion of the number of strings of the output set which is output is sorted according to the frequency values associated therewith in descending order of frequency value.
7. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: detecting taps; selecting a string from the portion of the number of strings of the output set which are output in accordance with a number of taps detected within a predetermined duration, wherein the selected string has a position in the portion of the strings of the output set which is output which corresponds to the number of taps; and outputting the selected string.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: identifying each straight stroke as a short straight stroke or a long straight stroke in accordance with the duration of the detected stroke; wherein the straight stroke is a short straight stroke when the duration is less than a first predetermined threshold, and wherein the straight stroke is a long straight stroke when the duration is greater than or equal to the first predetermined threshold.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining a duration between a previous stroke and a current stroke, wherein the previous stroke and the current stroke are part of a common stroke sequence when the duration is less than a second predetermined threshold, and wherein the previous stroke and the current stroke belong to separate stroke sequences when the duration is greater than or equal to the second predetermined threshold.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: detecting taps; selecting a string from the portion of the number of strings of the output set which are output in accordance with a number of taps detected within a predetermined duration, wherein the selected string has a position in the portion of the strings of the output set which is output which corresponds to the number of taps; and outputting the selected string.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: detecting an ambiguous input when a number of characters match a particular stroke sequence; determining a most probable character based on a previously inputted stroke sequence defining a previously inputted character when an ambiguous input is detected.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the most probable character has a higher frequency value compared to each of the number of characters.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the audible sound is generated by strokes performed on a textured surface.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the textured surface defines different textured patterns in at least two different directions, wherein the audible sound is different when a stroke is performed on the textured surface in each of the at least two different directions.
15. An electronic device, comprising: a processor; a microphone coupled to the processor; wherein the processor is configured for: detecting, using the microphone, audible sound generated by strokes of at least one character written on a writing surface; identifying from the detected sound a stroke sequence comprising at least one stroke and a predefined sound signature defining either a straight stroke or a curved stroke or both; determining the at least one character written on the writing surface using a predetermined character mapping that associates a particular character of the at least one character written on the writing surface with a particular stroke sequence, wherein the predetermined character mapping identifies the particular character by determining whether the particular stroke sequence includes either the straight stroke or the curved stroke or both, and by counting the number of straight strokes and curved strokes in the particular stroke sequence; distinguishing characters having the same stroke sequence resulting from the character mapping by recognizing a direction of each stroke relative to one another using a pad having a textured surface having at least two textured patterns oriented in different directions; and outputting a string comprising the at least one character determined by the predetermined character mapping.
16. The device of claim 15 , wherein the writing surface is a textured surface on an exterior of a housing of the electronic device, or the writing surface is a textured pad exposed by the housing of the electronic device.
17. The device of claim 16 , wherein the textured surface defines a different textured pattern in at least two directions so as to create different audible sounds when a particular stroke is performed on the textured surface in each of the at least two directions.
18. The device of claim 15 , wherein the writing surface is a textured pad external to the electronic device, the textured pad having a texture surfaced which provides the writing surface.
19. The device of claim 18 , wherein the microphone is an external microphone connected to the electronic device for transmitting acoustic signals detected by the microphone to the processor, the microphone being located in the textured pad.
20. The device of claim 15 , wherein the microphone is an external microphone connected to the electronic device for transmitting acoustic signals detected by the microphone to the processor.
21. The device of claim 20 , wherein the external microphone is located towards a tip of a stylus, the stylus being connected to the electronic device for transmitting acoustic signals detected by the microphone to the processor.
22. A system comprising: a texturized pad, comprising: a pad having a rough textured surface having at least two rough textured patterns, wherein each pattern is oriented in a different direction; a microphone located in the pad; an electrical connector extending through the pad, the electrical connector being connected to the microphone and having an interface exposed by the pad and configured for a microphone input port; and a processor configured for: detecting, using the microphone, audible sound generated by strokes of at least one character written on a writing surface; identifying from the detected sound a stroke sequence comprising at least one stroke and a predefined sound signature defining either a straight stroke or a curved stroke or both; determining the at least one character written on the writing surface using a predetermined character mapping that associates a particular character of the at least one character written on the writing surface with a particular stroke sequence, wherein the predetermined character mapping identifies the particular character by determining whether the particular stroke sequence includes either the straight stroke or the curved stroke or both, and by counting the number of straight strokes and curved strokes in the particular stroke sequence; distinguishing characters having the same stroke sequence resulting from the character mapping by recognizing a direction of each stroke relative to one another using a pad having a textured surface having at least two textured patterns oriented in different directions; and outputting a string comprising the at least one character determined by the predetermined character mapping.
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March 31, 2010
June 10, 2014
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